MILL CREEK – Gilbert Ponce heard a loud boom before he fell asleep, mistaking the noise for branches hitting his Mill Creek home.
When he awoke the next morning, two stately evergreens had fallen across the road outside his house, smashing into a neighbor’s home across the street. The power had been knocked out, too.
Ponce’s neighborhood, in the 100 block of 170th Street SE, is one of many in Snohomish and Island counties that remained trashed and without electricity Saturday in the wake of last week’s windstorm.
The storm – which lashed Snohomish County with 75-mph gusts and Island County with 90-mph gusts late Thursday and early Friday – knocked out power to thousands of homes as nighttime temperatures plummeted into the mid-20s and low 30s.
Ponce, 41, is staying with his wife and son at a family member’s house in Lynnwood until their power is back on. He returned to his home Saturday to clean debris from his yard and to dry his kitchen floor, which was soaked by his thawed-out freezer.
“We’re hoping to get power back on someday,” he said.
As of late Saturday, 11,000 homes scattered across Snohomish County and on Camano Island remained without electricity, PUD spokesman Neil Neroutsos said. Many of the outages were in the south half of Snohomish County.
At the height of the windstorm, as many as 120,000 PUD customers were without power.
On Whidbey Island, 16,000 homes remained without power late Saturday. Fallen trees made it difficult for work crews to reach some of the downed power lines, Puget Sound Energy spokesman Grant Ringel said.
It could be several days before power is restored to everyone in the two counties, the companies’ spokesmen said.
The cold weather is expected to continue into the week, with temperatures falling into the low 30s, National Weather Service meteorologist Johnny Burg said.
Today’s forecast called for a low of 31 degrees in Everett, with temperatures dipping into the mid-20s toward the Cascade foothills. There’s a 20 percent chance of light rain mixed with snow, Burg said.
The American Red Cross set up emergency shelters in both counties over the weekend for people who were unable to heat their homes.
Eight people stayed overnight Friday at the shelter in Everett, inside the gymnasium at Voyager Middle School. People who stayed there had three hot meals, coffee and showers.
American Red Cross Snohomish County Chapter also provided aid to an 83-year-old man whose home was damaged when the garage next to his house caught fire. Investigators believe the fire was caused by a malfunctioning generator. The man’s home did not have electricity, Edmonds Assistant Fire Chief Mark Correira said.
On Whidbey Island, the shelter at the Oak Harbor Senior Center remained open Saturday night. Shelters in Coupeville and Freeland were closed Saturday morning.
Workers continued the arduous task of clearing fallen trees from county roads. About 30 road closures remained in effect throughout Snohomish County. In Island County, several roads on the north and south ends of the island remained blocked by downed timber.
The severity of wind damage this week caused Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon to declare a state of emergency Friday afternoon.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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